By SUSAN JONES
By now, you’ve probably heard of someone at Pitt this semester who has been exposed to COVID or had it themselves, or you may even have contracted the disease yourself.
Senate President Robin Kear said at the Sept. 14 Senate Council meeting that she’d had a case of COVID this summer, while two other faculty members said they were attending remotely because one was isolating after being exposed and the other was dealing with COVID symptoms. Student Government Board President Ryan Young also said he’d just gotten out of a COVID quarantine, and that “a lot of students are testing positive right now.”
Kear noted that the pandemic seems to have now become endemic, “and one more thing to guard ourselves against.”
“I just urge you to go back and keep those sick-policy statements in your syllabi … and re-read your department and unit guidance on what to do for that,” Kear said.
On Sept. 14, the FDA approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine based on a variant called XBB.1.5, produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported that, “Overall, studies show that the updated vaccine is effective against the variants currently causing the majority of COVID cases.”
One dose of the updated COVID vaccine is recommended for all individuals 6 months and older. According to updated CDC guidelines, individuals in certain risk groups may receive additional doses with their health care provider’s guidance. Find the full guidelines on the CDC website.
On Sept. 20, the Biden administration announced that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household.
The Department of Health and Human Services says orders can be placed at COVIDTests.gov starting Sept. 25, and that no-cost tests will be delivered for free by the United States Postal Service.
The CDC’s COVID Data Tracker says the number of hospitalizations from COVID are up 7.7 percent over last week and deaths are up 12.5 percent.
The new COVID-19 boosters are not yet available at the Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection Hub, on the FIfth Avenue side of Nordenberg Hall, but they are expected to be coming soon. If patients would like to get their booster sooner, they can go to vaccines.gov and find local pharmacies with the vaccine. Right now, Walgreens and CVS seem to have the vaccine boosters in stock.
The Hub will offer mass flu vaccinations at the Petersen Events Center, Concourse B, rom 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 3 and 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 4. Appointments are encouraged; however, walk-ins are welcome.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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